These old buildings can tell tales

SHARON — Walking the centuries-old paths where now-silent generations strolled and considered their town’s present and hopeful future proved to be a provocative experience for the 20 or so residents and visitors who joined in a walk around the Sharon Green on Saturday, Sept. 28.

The weather could not have been better for the event billed as The Sharon Green Then and Now, an apt description.  Sharon Historical Society Director Jennifer Owens narrated the walk, armed with old photographs to show each property as it was when photography first became possible. 

As for further back in time, Owens narrated how the buildings were purposed in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“Our records go back to the founding of the town, in 1739,” Owens reported. 

“I was surprised to see how many general stores there were,” she added.

Part of the Housatonic Heritage Walks program being offered throughout the region this month, the walk began at the Gay-Hoyt House, home to the historical society, and moved on to the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, built in 1893.

Before there was the Methodist church, services were held at what is now The Taylor House in 1788, when it was a tavern.

Down on Main Street, there were several general stores over the years. Notice was taken of the varied histories of the properties, including a casino that offered cultural events and perhaps dances — not a casino in the modern sense of casino gambling, necessarily.

The Green itself, temporarily brown due to re-seeding after completion of a massive rebuild, but expected to become green within a month, was a public space and continues to be so. 

Over the summer, a drainage system and new sidewalk curbs were added on the upper side of the Green. The work was just completed, a month ahead of schedule. 

Long ago, horses were watered and rested on the Green, Owens said. Militia met there during the Revolutionary War. Newly formed churches would hold services; revivals would be a regular occurrence. Owners of distant Sharon properties would bring their animals there during important town center events such as the annual town meeting.

Ken and Elizabeth Frydman spoke to the group briefly about their home, its history and their stewardship of that heritage. The Abner and Elizabeth Burnham House, built between 1811 and 181, was a tavern for a while, then a girls’ school, then a millinery shop and then a pharmacy. 

One home held the roots of the Sharon Playhouse which began with dramatic readings being performed there between the 1920s and World War II.

A grand old hotel with porches that went on forever stood across from the Clock Tower. Vacationers from New York would take the train north to Sharon Station in the late 1800s and early 1900s to breathe the fresh Sharon air. 

The tour concluded at the iconic 1884 Clock Tower.

For anyone who missed the tour, a video and more information about each house is at the historical society’s website at www.sharonhist.org. Click on A Guide to the Homes and Buildings of the Sharon Green.

To find out about other Housatonic Heritage outings, go to www. housatonicheritage.org/events.